Set in Red Witch's Misfitverse! The Slayers and the Charmed Ones sense trouble brewing, but can the XMen, Misfits, and Joes manage to protect them from the wrath of the Heartless and the Hellfire Club or will the Nexus be lost in the hands of evil forever

Author's
Notes: I do not own the characters from the "X-Men: Evolution"
and G.I. Joe, for they are the respective properties of Marvel Comics
and Hasbro Entertainment. Characters of the Justice League as well
as Luthor, General Eiling, Batgirl and Supergirl are property of DC
Comics. The character, Jake Clawson, is from the SWAT Kats cartoon
and is the property of Hanna-Barbera. The character, Leomon, is from
the cartoon, "Digimon", and is the sole property of Saban
Entertainment. The characters regarding the Thirteenth Order and the
Heartless are from "Kingdom Hearts", a video game made by Disney
and Square-Enix. The characters of the Charmed Ones, including the
witches and Whitelighters, are the sole property of Aaron Spelling
while the characters of the Buffy universe are the respective
property of brilliant writer, Joss Whedon. The characters of the
Misfit-universe, including Althea Delgado, Xi, Trinity, Claudius,
Blind Master, and Lina are the respective property of brilliant
authoress, Red Witch, who has graciously lent me her universe to
write about. I DO own the OC Whitelighter characters, Justin Moore,
Krygaw, and Damionax, and I am not writing this as a way to make
money but for the enjoyment of all readers, so please, for the love
of God, don't sue me! I credited everyone! That said, I hope
everyone enjoys the most insane crossover I have ever attempted yet
between the Misfits, "Charmed", and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
universe. This takes place after "Chosen", the series finale of
"Buffy" and after the events of "Scry Hard" in Season Seven
of "Charmed". Yep, that's right folks! I'm rewriting the
events of the finale of Season Seven in Charmed, including the fact
that Elder Gideon is still alive in my series (he was never killed).
That said, sit back and enjoy the madness and drama in a little story
I call…

Nexus Nevermore

CHAPTER
1: Like Pawns to the Chessboard

Professor
Xavier just sat there in his wheelchair, silent and brooding as he
remained on the wooden floor of one of the gazebos that was standing
in the middle of the east garden, looking out upon the grounds of the
Institute of the Gifted, blankly staring at nothing in particular.

It was a
clear night, not a single cloud in the sky, and though it was a new
moon, the stars in the dark sky still provided a soft and subtle tone
of silver light to bathe the city of Bayville in an aura of peace and
quiet, for once.

Unfortunately,
for most of the X-Men and their allies who took the trouble to keep
the recent events in mind, they knew that it would be anything but
peaceful for the planet Earth.

"As the
old adage once asked, a penny for your thoughts, Charles?" Hank's
silky and refined voice spoke from behind, but the Professor did not
even need to turn around to see that Hank, Ororo, Logan, and Jake
Clawson were coming behind, approaching the wooden pergola with
concern and understanding. Xavier didn't have to read their minds
to know that the four were just as easily worried for him as they
were about the incoming future. The Professor sighed but offered a
rueful smile despite his desire to have some quiet time.

"Nothing
that the four of you have pondered once before ever since our last
fight with Trigon," the X-Men leader said as he leaded slightly
back and looked at the stars, "I was just attempting to mentally
reflect and see if there could have been a fact or minor detail that
we may have missed during one of the meetings we've had so far with
Hawk and the rest of our friends about the Hellfire Club and the
alleged Organization that has been causing noticeable trouble for us
and the world."

Logan
snorted as he crossed his arms and rested one shoulder upon one of
the porch's support beams as he crossed his arms over his chest and
half-growled, "Chuck, it ain't gonna do us any good if we keep
beating ourselves to the ground over this. Already, for the past
week, we've gone to eight different meetings with the various
people we've run up with so far, and none of them are able to
discover anything significant about this Thirteenth Order or this
'Gathering of Twilight' crap. Dr. Strange, the Justice League,
the Teen Titans, S.H.I.E.L.D, the Joes...all of them went over
everything we know and every possible lead with a fine-tooth comb,
only to turn up with nothing. Trust me on this, Chuck, if they
can't make any sense of what's ta' come, then there's no
sense in making yourself sick trying to achieve the impossible."

"Why,
Badger, I didn't think it was even possible for you to be
philosophical with that little cell you pass off as a brain. You
never fail to surprise me," Jake sniped good-naturedly as the kat
acrobatically leapt up and bit before plopping his rear and sat on
the sturdy wooden board like a youthful teenager across from
Wolverine. Logan glared at his co-worker with the evil eye, but he
gracefully remained quiet (and made a mental note to 'accidentally'
let loose some fleas in Jake's bedroom tonight).

"It is
frustrating, I admit Logan," Ororo admitted as she leaned against
the railing of the gazebo next to Jake, "And I honestly can confess
I feel scared for the children. We've been through so much already
with Apokolips and the Furies, the siege of Megakat City, Cobra,
H.A.T.E, the Friends of Humanity. I'm just not sure we can
continue to maintain our run of good luck and fortune, especially
since it seems to follow a pattern of each succeeding enemy we run
into becomes more ruthless and dangerous than the last."

Logan
frowned as he chastised a bit roughly, "The kids can take care of
themselves, Storm, and we can't continue to baby the little rugrats
and force them to avoid every single threat that comes our way.
Yeah, don't get me wrong about this. I'm worried and these kids
need to smooth a lot of rough edges in their tactics and such, but I
can't say I'm disappointed in them."

"Yes, I
remember how proud we all were when the Misfits, the X-Men, and the
Teen Titans succeeded in saving the world when they defeated Trigon a
week ago," Xavier had to smile despite himself, "I could honestly
say that I have never seen such a finer display of inter-teamwork and
bonds of trust between the different groups with the X-Men, untied
against the common enemy for the sake of all of us. It's quite
funny to remember that it has only been a week."

"But
will that always happen in each and every battle we face, Charles?"
Ororo said in a voice that was on the borderline of resentment and
reasoning, "This is much more different than any enemy we have ever
faced before, worse than Cobra or Creed and Stryker or, yes, even
Apocalypse. The Hellfire Club may be planning something along with
the Organization that could very well doom the entire world, and this
new Heartless threat may be the very weapon that could kill all of
us. Charles, please, take into account the possibility that this war
may be one we might not be able to win."

"And
what would be the alternative, Ororo? To give up? To not even try?"
Hank asked delicately and with some weariness. He just wanted a good
night's sleep after all of the recent turn of events. Storm's
eyes flashed for an instant as she whirled on Beast.

"No,
but what I am saying is that if we do not obtain a definite way or
method or tool that can help us fight the Heartless, the Hellfire
Club, and the Organization, then we may not even have a chance. And
we cannot wait for leads to turn up on their own," she emphasized
in a final and hard tone. It was apparent that the weather-witch had
pondered over this problem and only wanted to bring it up on the
chance that it could be an oversight. The Professor sighed.

"Ororo,
I have already realized the importance of such a vital piece or
tactic that could be used as our trump card in this fight, but we
have no such information about this Heartless or the Thirteenth Order
ever being on Earth before. Not even Wonder Woman has been able to
receive any records from the Roman gods or how Dr. Strange and Benny
recently confessed that none of their associates have ever
experienced or witnessed this threat. That is why I am just as
worried as you are, perhaps more so. For when the Hellfire Club does
make their next move, it shall be us that will be caught in the
destructive crossfire."

"And
the Misfits and the Joes too," Jake pointed out, "But that could
be a silver lining in this whole mess. No matter where we and the
kittens are in this fight, at least we won't fight alone. And
frankly, I'm glad we have the close relationship with the Joes and
the Misfits, all fights and arguments and differences aside. It
helps, to know that we're not alone, and I think I speak for all of
us when I say that we do trust them and that we'd do everything we
can to make sure that the Joes and Misfits would be safe from harm."

"You
don't speak for all of us, Jacob," Ororo said in a somewhat hard
voice, using the kat's full name to show her annoyed disagreement
at that statement.

"Storm,"
chastised Logan, a bit taken aback at that harsh assertion and
frowning. Jake however held up a paw, letting Logan know that he
didn't take any offense as he looked at Storm's blue eyes. He
knew the reasons why Ororo still had her reservations on the Misfits.

"Shipwreck
is a good man, Storm. Eccentric and foolish sometimes, yes…but
he's a noble kat nonetheless," Jake prodded gently, not seeing
Hank's fur bristle at Jake's support for his rival for Ororo's
affections. Storm just kept quiet, brooding. The Professor
continued on a bit uneasily at the awkward silence.

"That
is why the Justice League along with the Titans and our associates
are compromised to prepare for the worst and hope for the best for
now, as mildly as I can put it," Xavier said, "As much as we
would all like an established and fruitful lead, everyone knows that
we can only wait until the Hellfire Club or the Thirteenth Order
makes its next move."

"I
doubt that they're going to just suddenly mess up or make some sort
of mistake and expose themselves," Razor pointed out while
scratching at the wooden beam with a claw, "The Hellfire Club
aren't fools, and they're cunning enough to hide what they're
doing. If anything, when we do find out what the Hellfire Club is
trying to achieve, it's because they want us to know, not
because it was a simple fluke or screw-up."

Ororo
nodded as she said, "Like Hawkgirl and Robin have both pointed out
at our last meeting, it shall be as if the Hellfire Club is taunting
us, and with Luthor and Slade being confirmed members, this could be
a simple strategic move for them, one that they'll be fully ready
for interference from us."

"Then
this may be the very calm before the storm then," Hank said as he
looked at the moonless sky, "With the appearance of the Thirteenth
Order being more bold and audacious as well as the Hellfire Club's
betrayal to the H.I.V.E. Academy and Lex Luthor trying to run for
presidency of the United States, I fear things will get much, much
worse in the times to come. We may not be able to even comprehend
how the Inner Circle could top themselves with their next move, but
it is possible. They are capable of it. And should it
ever come to pass, I fear we will gain many more enemies against the
X-Men."

"Maybe
we can balance it out with the arrivals of new allies, or at the very
least, people who have a common goal alongside ours and who would be
willing to fight with us," Xavier said.

"We
can't always depend on freak instances like that dipstick, Leomon,
Chuck," Logan muttered, "Besides, even if we do finally go head
to head with the next army of Heartless of the next crony of the
Inner Circle, who can we find besides the Titans and the Justice
League who're powerful, experienced and tough enough to go head to
head with a demonic horde of demons and powerful mutants?"

---

At the
same time, high in the Watchtower in Earth's lower orbit…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
screamed Kara in pain as she clutched her head, her palms resting on
her temples as she howled, writhing uncontrollably and nearly going
into spasms of suffering. The agony was intense and unbearable; it
was like being pierced with a giant spear of red-hot steel dead
center into her heart and somehow having the liquid metal run through
every nook and crevice of her veins and capillaries in her organs,
skin, and brain. In that long tirade, Supergirl would have gladly
chosen death if she could. The blond-haired protégée
of Superman was shrieking loudly enough to wake the dead, but in this
case, it certainly alerted the rest of the Justice League and Batgirl
as well.

"What's
going on? What's wrong with Kara?" gasped Green Lantern as
Batgirl tried to hold her friend from collapsing and fainting on the
floor while Supergirl just screamed and screamed without words.
Batgirl was stunned and puzzled beyond disbelief.

"I
don't know!" the red-haired vigilante gasped, "We were just
talking for one moment, and then she just started acting like this
for no reason! Kara? Kara! Kara, hold on! Help her!
I think she's in pain!"

"Gee,
what was your first clue?" shot back Wally as he and Superman
zoomed up to the two teenage girls, "The screaming or the fact that
she looks like she's going through the monthly PMS tipped you off?"

"Wally?"
Wonder Woman said in a flat tone.

"Yeah?"

"Please
shut up."

"I'll
take Kara to the infirmary ward," Superman said with great concern
and worry in his voice as he moved to gather his sister in his arms,
but Supergirl's eyes began to glow with the intensity of a thousand
suns as he body began quivering in violent throes of paroxysms, and
instantly, Barbara could see something, a hot aura, forming all
around Supergirl.

"Watch
out! Get back!" she cried, much to Flash and Superman's
collective confusion as Supergirl had a number of images fly by her
head despite the pressure crushing her body…death, darkness, a
circle of powerful mutants, hooded figures in black hooded cloaks,
light, a door, and an blond-haired angel with black wings against the
sign of the Heartless. The voices were horrendous, permeating every
iota of her mind and thought, driving her mad as then a cold,
disembodied female voice called out inside her mentally.

It is
coming…

"LEAVE
ME ALONE!" Supergirl screamed, and instantly, her fire
wings erupted from her back violently, causing a enormous backlash of
heat and flames that rivaled that of s supernova. Before they could
be incinerated, superman quickly grabbed Batgirl and both he and the
Flash dashed off before they could succumb to the deadly flames. As
invulnerable Superman was, he didn't want to take chances with the
spirit of the Phoenix Force inside Supergirl. Supergirl kept
screeching like a banshee as she ascended up into the air, her wings
spreading into their full glory, a cyclone of hot air and fire
swirling around her.

"What
is with her?" Green Lantern gasped as he used his ring to create an
emerald-colored energy barrier to shield all of them before the
energy of the fire wings could touch them.

"I do
not know. I cannot sense her mind for it is chaotic, jumbled, almost
shattered into fragments," Martian Manhunter said in a calm voice,
though his eyes were solemn and troubled. And as suddenly as it
happened, the fires immediately vanished into this air, barely
emitting a puff of smoke, before Supergirl stopped screaming and
collapsed, hitting the metal floor solidly, nearly unconscious from
her ordeal.

"Kara!"
Superman yelled as he, Batgirl, and the rest of the League rushed
over to the young teen. Superman protectively gathered Supergirl in
his arms before Kara weakly looked into the faces of the other
superheroes before she managed to choke out, her voice and body
quivering with the cold.

"The
angel…the wings of darkness…" she whispered, and Kara then
fainted, passing out as she went limp into Superman's arms.

Half an
hour later, Batgirl and the Justice League were gathered around
Supergirl as she laid motionless on a bed with two wired nodes, one
connected to her forehead and one to her chest, detected her
respective to an EEG and an EKG machine, beeping faintly.

"So
what's wrong with Supergirl and what made her act out like that?"
Green Lantern asked, "Do you think it could be from the Phoenix
Force she absorbed inside her when she fought at Apokolips?"

Martian
Manhunter shook his head as he gently caressed the sweaty and
feverish forehead of Supergirl, brushing her bangs tenderly like any
father, replying in his tranquil rational voice, "No, it is not the
Phoenix Force. Though it is a powerful being of energy, I could have
easily detected the presence of the Phoenix Force had it been the one
causing Supergirl's suffering. Yet if anything, the remnant of the
spirit was not the one that was hurting Supergirl. I could sense
some sort of foreign outside force invading Supergirl's body, as if
it was a direct onslaught on her soul and core of her being. I can't
explain it nor detect it any further because it has vanished, but
whatever caused Supergirl to come into a coma, it was some unnatural
outside influence."

"But
how could it have gotten past the detection and security of the
Watchtower?" Wonder Woman asked, distressed, "If it was some sort
of energy beam or biological warfare or even nanotechnology that has
afflicted Kara, shouldn't our systems have detected the presence
and alerted us of such a invasion?"

"I
don't think it's anything like that," Flash put in, "All the
signs from the EKG and EEG show normal patterns, except that she's
just in some sort of deep sleep."

"So
what else could it be? Magic?" John Stewart half-joked.
Unfortunately, when he caught the solemn and serious gazes of
Hawkgirl and Batman and Martian Manhunter, his jaw slightly dropped
in astonishment.

"You're
serious?" Green Lantern repeated, making sure he was clear on their
answer.

"It's
the only logical explanation," sighed Wonder Woman, accepting it.
As a goddess and an Amazon from Paradise Island, she was much more
open to the notion of magic and the bizarre.

"And
there's another reason why we suspect this may be some sort of
paranormal assault," Hawkgirl reported as she held up her mace for
everyone to see, and sure enough, the League and Batgirl could
discern a faint while glow of luminescence covering the head of her
weapon, faint but evident. Hawkgirl continued to explain.

"Remember,
my mace is made of N'th metal, and it reacts strongly with any sort
of magical energy and mystic signatures. Since our scanners couldn't
detect any biological or chemical imbalances and J'onn couldn't
sense any malicious outpouring from the Phoenix Force inside
Supergirl, it's safe to say that my mace is indicating that
whoever's doing this had cast some sort of spell or charm on
Supergirl."

"Magical?
Well, if that's the case, they why don't you just say
'bibbidy-bobbidy-boo' on Supergirl and cure her, Bats?
You did so before when you helped Etrigan against that witch-boy,
Klarion," the Flash suggested, and Batman did his best to wither
the speedster with a look.

"I may
know some forms of magic, but nothing like this. Even Zatanna's
skills could surpass mine. I cannot help Supergirl," he said
curtly, shortly.

"Well,
we know some people who could be powerful enough to help us out,"
Green Lantern suggested, but Superman shook his head in
disappointment, already cursing the bad timing.

"Dr.
Fate, Zatanna and Jason Blood have already left with Dr. Strange and
his apprentice to another mystical universe to see if they could
discover anything about the Thirteenth Order and the Heartless as of
last week, and they're still on their duties of trying to look for
any information that could help us deal with the Gathering of
Twilight. And the reason they left was because Dr. Strange and Jason
may have discovered a promising lead in the ruins of some ancient and
magical kingdom that had the same energy signatures that have been
appearing all around the globe, especially in San Francisco,
according to some of their sources. As such, they'll be gone for a
while," Superman said with some frustration.

"What
about General Hawk and his G.I. Joe or the X-Men? Don't they know
anyone who's strong in the mystical arts?" Martain Manhunter
asked, and Batgirl gasped as it came to her.

"Of
course! Margali Sefton is the mother of Nightcrawler's girlfriend,
Amanda, and she's a sorceress! And Scarlet Witch was tutored by a
witch named Agatha Harkness! And there's Raven from the Teen
Titans! All three of them are incredibly powerful! I'm sure they
can find something if we could reach them!" Barbara exclaimed.

"I
dunno, it may not be enough," Flash put in with some hesitation,
"If this magical mumbo-jumbo was enough to cause Supergirl's
piece of the Phoenix Spirit to go haywire, then this might be pushing
our limits. Yeah, it'll definitely help if they can look over
Kara, here, but we're gonna need someone with major firepower to
help us. And if we don't do something quick, Superman's gonna be
short one sidekick."

"Must
you always open that big mouth of yours and insert the shoe-store,
Wally?" groaned Green Lantern out loud as Superman gave the red
speedster a piercing glare. Wally chuckled weakly, letting Superman
it was a harmless joke. Batman's face was steel, emotionless, but
he quickly whirled around and walked away from the congregation.

"Batman,
where are you going?" Wonder Woman asked.

"I
going to see if one of my past acquaintances can help us with
Supergirl," Batman said in his deep voice as he disappeared into
the shadows of the hallway, "Or, more specifically, three
past acquaintances…"

However,
at the same time, in the lair and headquarters of the Cadmus group…

"The
Justice League have been already alerted of the status of Supergirl,"
Lex Luthor stated, almost chuckling, as he and General Eiling looked
at the transmission reports that had been expertly and skillfully
hacked and extracted from the Watchtower of the Justice League in
one, sterile metal room filled with complex communication equipment.
Deep and hidden within the many subterranean bases within Washington
D.C. and with their technology, the Justice League would never be
able to guess who and where the signals were being downloaded to.
Though it was extremely difficult and it took much effort on the part
of Dr. Hamilton and his staff of technicians' in order to find a
way to intercept and burrow their Spyware into the Watchtower's
computer networks, it was certainly a rewarding and fruitful gain,
worth the many risks. In fact, Eiling doubted that the League would
even detect such a small anomaly. The Omega Juggler just smiled, not
the least bit bothered as he chewed the end of the cigar in his
mouth.

"Good,
exactly how we have planned, and I'll certainly be happy to see how
this shall turn out now that we have what we required for our special
weapon. And with the new Heartless experiments we have in
development, it should certainly be more than enough to raise hell
once we set them free in San Francisco for the slaughter," Eiling
said without much thought.

"Of
course, since the X-Men, Misfits, and Joes shall try to trace this
back at the abnormal energy gathering in the city as of late while
they try to request the help of the Charmed Ones, if Selene and
Blackheart managed to succeed in their parts, then like all fools,
those heroic imbeciles will play directly into our hands once they
start investigating. But…why not try a test run with one of our
more promising results? A gathering of heroes all concentrated into
one place? It is tempting if you think about it," Luthor
suggested with a sadistic and cunning smile.

Eiling's
eyes glittered with anticipation and agreement as he concurred, "Of
course. We might as well see how our newer models will fare against
the Halliwells, the Joes and their mutant pets. And if some are
killed before the eventual siege, then so much for the better, I
say…"

---

Meanwhile,
in a dark and abandoned cavern deep within the black, sooty, iron
mountains of Hell, the very heart of all supernatural evil
dimensions…

"DAMN
IT ALL!" the dark-haired, goateed demon-warlock named
Zankou bellowed with all of his might and hate as he flung another
crackling, purplish-tinged energy sphere that could have taken out a
small group of human soldiers instantly in incineration. The blast
of death immediately collided with the nearby wall of stone and
cragged earth before exploding hotly and leaving a very noticeable,
smoldering hole in the slab of granite and mineral. Yet it was not
the only one. All throughout the walls and borders of the
headquarters were various, charred holes of numerous shapes and
sizes, a testament to how long the satanic demon general had been
hurling his attacks on his home.

To say
Zankou was angry would have easily been an understatement.

The
well-built, powerful and influential warlock was the supreme
commander of over ten-score of some of the most depraved and ruthless
demon warlords ever known to both man and demon kind, infamous in
Hell and Heaven alone. He himself prided on his cunning tactics of
warfare, strife, and hostile ability to conquer and rule over all
with an iron fist. He was feared by many, few ever dared to stand
and correct him or disagree with him (they would never live to brag
that right), and Zankou even managed to defeat the Avatars
themselves, beings of almost infinite power and omnipotence and
authority.

So why in
the name of Satan could he never succeed in defeating the three
Wiccans known as the Halliwell sisters?

"Damn
them! Damn each and every one of those bitches!" Zankou
continued to rant, his entire muscled and toned body quivering with
absolute burning rage and ire underneath his uniform. His energy and
fury spent, Zankou had little choice but to just mope, fume, and try
to plan another attempt to kill the Charmed Ones and steal the Book
of Shadows…where it would probably fail and fall flat on its face
just like the other various times he and other entities of evil have
attempted before. Zankou however was far from admitting defeat as he
continued to ponder while seething. There just had to be a way to
weaken the Charmed sisters! There just had to be!

Suddenly,
his tirade and session of meditative thoughtfulness was interrupted
by a slow and intentionally mocking round of clapping as a female's
voice rang out in amused jest from behind.

"Lost
another match to the Charmed Ones, have you, dear Zankou? My, my,
my…so does this make the tally a mere ten-thousand to one in the
Halliwells' favors?"

Zankou
whirled around to see a familiar woman of black magic, her long raven
hair sleeked and shining like the purest onyx stone while billowing
over her shoulders like a waterfall of death, her white robes
clinging seductively to her luscious frame and ample bosom. Yet
Zankou was not the least bit pleased or intrigued to see his guest
from the Hellfire Club.

"Selene…"
Zankou hissed, his eyes now glowing red, "Whatever you are here
for, I can tell you I am not interested. The last thing I wish is to
associate with those mortal fools in the Hellfire Club, especially
since we demons have no adherence to the scum called mutants."

"I'd
watch your tongue if I were you Zankou," Selene said, but her voice
was mild, almost faintly pleased, as she continued, "Especially
since the Hellfire Club wishes to inform you of a golden opportunity
to help take down the Charmed Ones…"

Zankou
snorted in disbelief at the Black Queen as he snarled with malice,
"Don't make me laugh! Not even your fellow Externals could
eliminate the Charmed Ones! Or have you forgotten how easily the
Halliwell sisters killed Absalom and Crule when the God damned cunts
along with Batman, Dr. Fate, and Etrigan stormed in at the High Lord
Ascension to prevent your clan from ruling over the Earth? I can
easily see through your lies, you filthy succubus! You think my men
and I shall easily be led and do your dirty work for you and the
Hellfire Club while you all just lounge around and reap the rewards
of my faithful followers getting killed? Not likely, so get out!"

Selene's
eyes now turned as hard and cold as steel at the reference to the
High Lord Ascension.

"I
assure you, Zankou, that this time, things are different, especially
since the Hellfire Club now has the aid of the Heartless and the
Thirteenth Order. But our plans to wipe out the Halliwell line
cannot be accomplished unless we have you and your men assisting us
for the eventual battle against those witches."

Zankou
looked a little lost as he repeated with some curiosity, "Heartless?
The Thirteenth Order? Who the hell are the Thirteenth Order?"

"That
would be the group whom I represent, Zankou," a deep voice
rumbled from behind, managing to evade Zankou's supernatural senses
until the very last minute, "But my Superior does not take
well with disrespect to him and his Organization, so I highly advise
you to watch that tone of voice, warlock."

Zankou
nearly jumped out of his skin (if demon warlocks had any) as he
whirled around to his unknown second guest, wrathfully humiliated
that someone managed to catch him off-guard and unaware. However,
for one of the rarest of occasions, Zankou was completely shocked and
bowled over as he then realized he was staring directly into the
muscled, tones bare chest of a black-skinned creature displaying an
odd red-and-black symbol of a heart crossed out with a thorny "X"
crossed over it. The warlock leader looked up to see himself staring
directly into the red eyes of the ten-foot tall demon known as
Blackheart. Even with his centuries of fighting and hostile
conquest, Zankou knew from his demon instincts that this spiky-mane
creature of darkness was not to be taken lightly. He could sense it,
that aura of power that could gobble worlds whole…

"What
in the name of Heaven and Hell?" gasped Zankou, "Who are you?"

"My
name is Blackheart," the Organization member rumbled.

Selene
then said from behind the demon warlock, "As you can see, he is a
being of great supremacy and dominant power, power that makes the
influence of the Nexus and the Charmed Ones seem insignificant. This
is the true strength of the powers of the darkness and the
Heartless…"

Zankou,
though interested, remained suspicious.

"And
why do you need my help for?" he hissed. Blackheart's eyes
narrowed.

"The
Charmed Ones are no fools nor are they weaklings. The three
Halliwell sisters are one of the most powerful and formidable foes
this planet has to offer, and unlike so many of their fallen nemeses,
the Hellfire Club and the Organization are not foolhardy enough to go
rushing into direct confrontation with the Wiccans, especially with
their magic. Yet you, Zankou, have temporarily allied himself with
them in order to vanquish and destroy the Avatars. As such, it could
be a great assistance, for you have been working with and against
Piper, Phoebe, and Paige Halliwell, so you know their weaknesses and
strengths, their faults and their full potentials. Such insight
would be highly valuable to us and the Hellfire Club."

"In
other words, Zankou, an allegiance will work quite well against your
hostilities against the damned Halliwells," Selene added, "You
lack the power but have knowledge about the Charmed Ones and could
help strategize how we could hurt the witches the most. The Hellfire
Club lacks adequate knowledge about the true might of the Charmed
Ones and their spells from the Book of Shadows, but we have the power
to overwhelm the meddling fools once and for all. Thus, it shall be
a case where we both help each other for the common goal…"

Zankou
had to admit that he was weakening. Still, he wished to test exactly
how potent this Organization member was, and without warning, the
goateed warlock summoned another energy ball in his palms before he
flung it directly in the center of Blackheart's chest, scoring it
into the Heartless insignia. Selene made a small sound of surprise,
but Blackheart wasn't the least bit fearful and he just stood
there, his arms crossed over his torso, as the energy ball struck.

Ka-whoom!

A small
cloud of steam and bluish sparks scattered in the air, but to the
warlock chief's amazement, the energy blast of a thousand metal
bullets absolutely had no effect! Blackheart just widened one eye
with some amusement, but mostly irritation, at proving his point.
Zankou was astounded beyond his capable belief. Not even an Avatar
could have withstood that attack without at least some sign of
discomfort! And yet Blackheart did not even bat an eye or wince in
the slightest pain.

Zankou
now felt a bit intimidated, if not wary and fearful. This
representative from the supposed Thirteenth Order was
powerful.

Blackheart's
voice was cold as he intoned, "You were given one chance to
test me. If you ever dare to attempt that again…"

Blackheart
left the message unsaid, but immediately, Zankou arched his back and
screamed as Blackheart's eyes began to glow, enveloping the warlock
with the same ruby brilliance of the dark creature. Zankou bellowed
from the bowels of his deepest pits of feeling and agony, and it was
even more humiliating considering that the commander was stubborn and
adamant and had an unfaltering will of steel to a fault. By the
names of the Ancients, not even the fires of Hell could set every
fiber of his body aflame in such an excruciating manner! And as soon
as it came, Blackheart stopped, causing Zankou to drop down to his
knees in merciful relief, panting and sweating. As Zankou wrathfully
and belligerently looked up at the black creature of darkness with a
mixture of hate and poisonous respect, Zankou still knew that the
Hellfire Club would not be shortsighted enough to request his
services without a price…and a reward.

"What
are your terms?" Zankou hissed.

Selene
then replied with some satisfaction, knowing that they had cornered
the commander and war chief at last, "Give full authority and
command to Blackheart to order and summon your men. Both you and
Blackheart shall share the roles of war chieftains with your
mercenaries and any demons and warlocks willing to fight and provide
their services to the upcoming battle in San Francisco. Blackheart
needs an army, and you so conveniently have one."

"And
what shall we get in return?" Zankou asked, his interest growing.

"You
shall have the gift of the Charmed Ones' Book of Shadows as well as
the powers of the Nexus, Zankou. And no, the Hellfire Club has
absolutely no interest in the Nexus at Halliwell Manor nor that
middling tome of pitiful spells. The Thirteenth Order and
Organization have powers that are far greater and significant
compared to the powers of the Earth and Wicca, and as such, we have
no attraction in the rewards and gains you would reap from defeating
them. We just want the Charmed Ones dead for they are a hindrance to
our plans for the Gathering of Twilight," Blackheart
stated.

As much
as his instincts were rising against the offer, Zankou knew that deep
down, this may be the only way to get what he wanted.

"And
afterwards? Once the deed is done?"

"You
are free to part ways with the Hellfire Club and do whatever you wish
with the Book of Shadows and the Nexus, free to use them to become
the most feared and renowned warriors and warlocks of demon-kind in
all the Earth. As Blackheart said, we couldn't care less about
what you do as long as you help us destroy the Charmed Ones,"
Selene said simply.

"Very
well," Zankou said as he wiped some of the blood from his mouth,
"But I can warn you both right now that the Halliwells are very
powerful and should not be taken lightly. Even with our forces
combined, we still may not be enough to stop them."

"Oh,
I can assure you, Zankou," Blackheart rumbled, his red eyes
now gleaming hotly with anticipated and eager savageness, "The
Thirteenth Order shall make sure that the Charmed Ones do not make it
through this unscathed…"

---

One week
ago, in a quaint boarding school in the English countryside…

"And
that's what you could make of this dream?" the Slayer Rona asked
Willow as she and the others listened in intently to Willow's
testimony along with Giles, Wood, Xander, Andrew, Faith and several
of the new Slayers that included Kennedy, Rona, Caridad, Vi, and
Shannon. Ever since that night, Willow had been zealously,
agitatedly, and feverishly looking up all the ancient texts and
manuscripts she could find in their small collection of the
paranormal and whatever she could find on the Internet, much to
Kennedy's worry. And in the very first thing in the morning,
before breakfast, Willow and Kennedy spread the news to a select few
about an emergency meeting. Since many at the boarding school were
newly-instated Slayers, both the witch and the Slayer thought that
there was no need to alert everyone of what vexed Willow on that
fateful dream last night.

And thus,
at the meeting, Willow went into precise and accurate detail of what
she could feel in the dream and how it gave her a moment of
clairvoyance and lucidness that a great evil and force was gathering
in San Francisco, also sharing the term of the mysterious experiment
that plagued her thoughts and aroused her primal fears. The others
along with Kennedy, listened with great interest and there was only a
puzzled and thoughtful silence when the red-haired Wiccan finished
her narration. Rona just awkwardly brushed her dreadlocks off her
shoulders as a weak response, but like everyone else in the room, she
didn't know what to think.

"Experiment
666…" Giles repeated to himself before shaking his head, "I
apologize, but Willow, I do not believe that the Council ever had any
reference or record of such an event in all my time being a Watcher.
It could be possible that such a monstrosity could not exist and that
this could simply be a bad dream brought on by the stress of training
and accommodating the newfound Slayers from all over the globe."

"No
Giles, you know better than that," Wood said in his deep voice, "In
our line of work, there's no such thing as odd coincidences and bad
dreams. If Willow believes that she senses something building in San
Francisco, then I'm willing to believe her. Remember, her
connection to the Earth and it's life forces make her sensitive to
anything strange or evil that may be building up strength and
numbers."

"And it
is better to be safe than sorry," Shannon replied, unconsciously
rubbing the scar on her neck behind her ear where Caleb, a
representative and servant of the First, had burned her with his ring
right before he stabbed her, "I'm willing to go back to the
United States again if it gives us a chance to nip whatever evil
force is over there in the bud before it gets out of control."

"Wow,"
gushed a hyperactive and easily emotional, high-pitched Andrew Wells,
"A quest for the greater good, a crusade to search for branches of
evil and eradicate and purify the very lands were are sent to as holy
men! A group forged by the bonds of destiny and friendship, united
in the mission to save the world. Like the Crusaders on their
journey to find the holy grail in the lands of Jerusalem! Like the
Fellowship of the Ring that accompanied Frodo on his duty to destroy
the One Ring of Mordor! Like Driscoll and Denham's expedition to
save Ann from the clutches of King Kong! Like - !"

"Andrew?"
Giles said, his eyes closed and a hand to his throbbing temple to
mask his rising gall while everyone else fought the urge to roll his
or her eyes at the tirade of the science-fiction/fantasy geek.

"Yes?"

"Do
shut up."

Andrew
blushed before he hastily uttered a soft apology. Xander turned his
good right eye to Willow, Wood and Faith before saying, "OK, so a
trip to the Bay Area where there's Chinatown, the Golden Gate
bridge, and the gay mecca of the United States? I call
dee-double-dibs on the window seat! Any contest to those
dee-double-dibs shall only be won through a good round of thumb-war,
Slayers need not apply!"

"You
are certainly not going, Xander," Giles shot down sternly,
"This is not a bloody vacation, if I should remind you none too
gently, and we cannot send everyone to the city, especially when the
new Slayers still need to be rather thoroughly trained and watched
over in case of any secret attacks."

"I
hafta agree with Giles here, Xander," Wood pointed out, "We can't
send everyone out in San Francisco, especially since most of the new
Slayers and Potentials still lack the needed training before they can
even tackle a vampire or things much worse. And even though there
haven't been any sighting of Bringers or vamps since the
destruction of the Hellmouth in Sunnydale, we can't leave the girls
vulnerable like this."

"Sorry,
girl. Force of habit," Wood apologized, but he gave Caridad a
typical grin that was reminiscent of his happier, compassionate times
as a former principal.

"What
about Buffy?" Shannon asked, "She should know about this."

Yet Faith
shook her head in a dismissive and care-free fashion, snorting
softly, as she pointed out, "Nah, leave B alone for now. She and
the kid are in Rome, and I don't wanna be the one to break up their
happy-living and stuff, all nice and peaceful like. B doesn't need
to be bothered by some lame fact-finding mission or some hunch Willow
had. Nothing against you, girl, but I need more proof than a case of
heebie-jeebies, you know what I'm saying?"

Faith
added that last sentence when she caught the look of annoyed and
protective anger from Kennedy and the look of hurt on Willow's
face.

"Awkwardly
said, but significant nonetheless," Giles said, though one could
tell he was fighting the urge to correct her syntax and sentence
structure, "We have no proof that Willow's premonition is valid,
and as such, we cannot go into a full alert of emergency just because
of a single dream."

"And
Faith has a point," Vi remarked as she thoughtfully held her chin
with one hand, "Buffy isn't the only Slayer in the world now, so
any possible threat from the First that comes up doesn't
necessarily need her involvement, especially since she's already
busy trying to investigate the Wolfram and Hart branch in Europe. If
Willow is right and something powerful is building up in San
Francisco, we should be able to handle this one ourselves."

"Actually,
that reminds me…" Xander interrupted, "Has there ever been a
record of a Hellmouth in San Francisco? It could explain why Willow
felt something weird there."

Kennedy
shook her head as she replied with a heavy sigh, "Negative. Willow
and I searched every text and manuscript we could find about all
existent Hellmouths left in the world, and not one of them made any
note or indication that there was one in the Bay Area or anywhere
close to it. Sunnydale, yes. Cleveland, yeah. New York, no
brainer. But San Francisco? Nothing."

"Maybe
it's not a Hellmouth then," Rona put in thoughtfully, "Willow
said she sensed that whatever this evil or this 'Experiment 666'
is, it's nothing like the First or any of the other baddies we've
fought before"

"So
who'll come with you?" Caridad asked.

"Well…"
Wood said after a moment of thought, "San Francisco is a big city,
and I immediately thought Chao-Ahn could be valuable since she could
help talk and communicate to the locals in Chinatown and guide the
scouts there since none of us are fluent in Chinese. Also,
definitely Willow and Kennedy and Faith since they're experts and
powerful enough to deal with any unpleasant surprises we find in the
city. I also thought of Dana -"

"Dana?"
gasped Vi and Rona simultaneously, alert and alarmed. Indeed,
everyone remembered the girl from the mental asylum that was brought
from Los Angeles, a Slayer who had gone through dire and horrific
trauma, both physically and mentally, that resulted in her being
psychotic and needing to be incarcerated. Thankfully after much
time, love, patience, medication, sedatives, and cuts and bruises
(given courtesy by Dana, of course), Dana managed to emerge from her
shell and destructive state of mind. True, she still had a long way
to go and she was very fearful of others, but the other Slayers grew
to see Dana for the slightly caustic and sarcastic yet hurt girl who
needed love and a family like everyone else.

Still,
sending Dana on her first mission as a part of the Slayers and
Scoobies was sort of like adding gasoline to an already crackling
bonfire.

"She
needs to start being exposed to what it's like to interact with
people outside our little group, and I'll be with her to help
accompany and guide her to make sure she doesn't get overwhelmed
and such. But Giles, we have to let her out and expose her to human
interaction at some point. It won't be healthy for her to remain
cooped up here," the strapping African American Watcher emphasized,
and Giles, though he still had some doubts, knew that Wood could be
entrusted with Dana's care.

Willow
then added with some hesitation, "Also, I think we could do with a
few more people to help cover more ground. That's why I asked
Shannon, Caridad, Rona, Vi, and Andrew to attend this meeting. I
think it would be beneficial for the five of them to be added as a
part of the expedition team."

"To
help you as a part of your training to be a future Watcher. Andrew,
if you wish to help grow and mature in the role of being a Watcher to
future Slayers, then you need to start going out in the field more
and start learning how to deal with field work," Willow said as she
gave a small hesitant smile at the nervous, blond boy even though a
part of her would always hold some resentment at him and his friends
for being responsible for killing Tara. Still, over the years,
Willow learned to look past that and see that Andrew did truly redeem
himself from evil and just wanted to make up for his past errors,
though not from most of his faults of cowardice and opening his mouth
before thinking.

"Well
that, and if we somehow meet some huge, dangerous baddie that
tries to kill us in the Bay City, it'll be the perfect way for us
to 'conveniently' get rid of you as demon-bait," Xander put in
humorously with a big smile, and it was rather difficult for everyone
to say whether or not the one-eyed adult was joking.

"Then
it's settled, dudes," Faith drawled with a smile, "We leave for
the San Fran in a week."

---

Back at
the X-Mansion the following morning after the Professor had his small
talk with the staff in the gazebo the night before…

"Ugh!"
ranted Kitty, incredibly irate and fuming as she gingerly walked out
of her room, now covered completely from head to toe with a
translucent, pinkish-colored, foul-smelling slime mold that would
have made manure smell like violets. Toad and Trinity's handiwork
apparently. Shadowcat continued screaming as she stomped into the
living room.

"I
am like so going to kill Trinity and Toad!" hollered
Kitty, hysterical and shrieking so much that even dogs could register
the high-pitched tone of her screeching voice. The only people who
looked up at her yells of fury were Tabitha and Forge, both of whom
were reading a magazine apiece while sitting on the den's couches.
Forge raised an eyebrow, wrinkling his nose at the smell.

"Not
cool. I take it this explains the small and gnarly explosion we
heard upstairs a moment ago?" the inventor asked.

"Ugh, I
swear, I'm like the only target for those totally immature creeps!"
Kitty griped, nearly in tears as she tried to get the gunk off her,
but with little success. The slime, though like mucus, stuck like
glue and was already beginning to harden. Piotr then emerged from
the hallway with a towel, concern and the protective need to soothe
and comfort his girlfriend arising with his instincts.

Piotr
whispered in a gentle manner as he started to wipe the gunk of
Kitty's body and matted hair, "Katya, it's all right.
I'm sure we can clean you up in no time with a good bubble bath and
shower. You'd like that, wouldn't you? And don't feel too mad
about these pranks. They're just trying to annoy and get your goat
because you saw how much of a loser Alvers is and dumped him before
he could ruin your life even more. Come on, Kitty, it's not much,
and I'm sure I can run your clothes through the laundry while you
go clean up -"

"Peter,
it's OK," Kitty said in an exasperated voice, "I can like
totally do it myself!"

Yet the
Russian X-Man avoided Kitty's attempts to grab the towel as he
continued to mollycoddle her, as if she was some child, still
placating and trying to calm her down delicately in a infuriating
way, "Kitty, just stand still so I can wipe out the mess out of
your - "

Yet it
was then that Kitty snapped as she growled and yanked the towel out
of Piotr's hands, now starting to lash out at him.

"I
said I can do it, Peter!" she almost yelled as she didn't
even bother to look at her boyfriend and teammate as she furiously
rubbed her hair with the towel, "Honestly, I'm not like some weak
baby who can't like take care of herself! I can handle drying
myself just fine, Peter! Like, I'm grateful for the towel, but
can't you like stop totally babying me?"

Tabitha
raised an eyebrow at the hurt on Piotr's face as he just stood
there, backing off, and it didn't escape Boom-Boom that there was a
look of irritation on Kitty's face when Piotr took that first shot
at Lance in his dialogue. Then the awkward silence was broken by a
familiar voice in the background.

"I see
you X-Men never have a dull moment amongst yourselves or with the
Misfits," and Forge, Tabitha, Piotr, and Kitty turned to see a
semi-amused Batgirl, standing in her full yellow and black masked
regalia. Though she was half-smiling, her blue eyes were solemn.

"Reconnaissance
with you and the Joes and the Misfits, courtesy of the Justice
League. Get Professor X to organize another meeting in his office.
The Misfits will be arriving shortly. We've got trouble…"
Batgirl said, her face now turning grim.

Author's
Notes: Well, the ball has begun to roll, faithful reviewers! Next
Friday, we run into an old member of the X-Men as she endures a new
horror, and Batgirl briefs the X-Men the Misfits and the Joes about
the recent events! And as for the Charmed Ones, trouble is brewing
with Inspector Sheridan and Agent Keyes while the sisters get a few
unwelcome guests in the manor, and Piper will certainly not be
pleased! Until next week, read and enjoy! Constructive criticism
welcome!

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.